Cabinet hinge



J. M. HIMES CABINET HINGE Dec. 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Sept. 2. 1960 wal ATTORNEY J. M. HIMES CABINET HINGE Dec. 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 2. 1960 l/ /O In 4 m o o RS Y M, M 2 5/52/ y, 3f n 4 u E.. 3 iw E M /Wm lll E L E M T VM 2 0? L6M@ l0 nl. 2 f 6. lu wm M 4 5 A. W w EN. 5 2 lo 4 lo f i 2 4. f E i @@@a 2 F M U/ www Q 4 mw n l w w n, w .,N i1 F United States Patent O 3,224,036 CABINET HINGE John M. Himes, Hartford, Wis., assigner to E. R. Wagner Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Continuation of application Ser. No. 53,832, Sept. 2, 1960.

This application Jan. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 341,382 Claims. (Cl. 16-196) This is a continuation of my prior co-pending application Serial No. 53,832, led September 2, 1960, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to an improved hinge mechanism for refrigerators and freezers having horizontally disposed covers.

Counterbalancing hinges are generally used not only to hingedly secure the cover to the main cabinet portion of a freezer, but to also supply a lifting force to aid in raising the cover. These hinges are commonly designed to provide a varying lifting force, depending on the weight and position of the cover with a minimum amount of force being required to close the cover. Since the seal between the cover and cabinet is provided by the weight of the cover, the counterbalancing force must be at a minimum when the cover is closed. A maximum amount of effort is then required to initially open the cover.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved counterbalancing hinge which provides an immediate lifting force after a minimum amount of movement of the cover.

Another object is to provide an improved counterbalancing hinge that has a smooth, free-acting motion from a minimum to a maximum lifting force.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge which is noiseless in operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a counterbalancing hinge which can be readily adapted to different cover designs.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the hinge with the cover closed.

FIG. 2 is taken on line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing a back View of the hinge.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the hinge partly broken away.

FIG. 4 is taken on line 4 4 of FIG. 2 showing the hinge with the door closed.

FIG. 5 is taken on line 5 5 of FIG. 2 with the cover in an intermeditae position.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 with the cover fully open.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the retainer plate.

FIG. 8 is taken on line 8 8 of FIG. 7 showing the retainer plate.

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of the link.

As seen in the drawings, the counterbalancing hinge pivotally connects a cover 10 to a cabinet 12 of a refrigerating or freezing unit. The cover contemplated herein is of the type which forms a seal with the cabinet because of its own weight and the lifting force of the counterbalancing hinge must be at a minimum when the cover is closed to provide a positive seal with the cabinet. One or more hinges may be spaced along the back of the cabinet, depending on the force which is required to effectively aid in opening the cover.

Each hinge includes a channel member 14 secured to the cabinet by means of inturned anges 16, each of which is provided with slots 18 for receiving screws 20. The flanges extend inward from side walls 22 with a back panel 24 turned inward from the top of the side walls to form a top plate 26, which is provided with a slot 28 through which spring compression rod 30 projects. The side walls are indented at 32 to hold the top plate in position.

A mounting bracket 34 is pivotally connected to the channel member by a pivot pin 36 and is secured to the cover by means of outturned flanges 38 provided with slots 48 for receiving screws 42. The mounting bracket is provided with a downwardly sloping top wall 44, which is bent inwardly from the rear of the bracket and slotted at 46 to provide a space for spring compression rod 30 when the cover is raised to an intermediate (FIG. 5) or open position (FIG. 6). A pin 47 is transversely mounted in side walls 49 of the mounting bracket to support a link 50 (FIG. 9) having an aperture 52 through which a hook portion 54 of the spring compression rod extends. The side walls of the channel are expanded at 55 to provide room for the ends of the pin when the cover is moved to the open position.

The spring compression rod extends downward in the channel member through a compression spring 56 which is seated on the inner side of top plate 26 and is retained on the rod by cup shaped plate 58 adjustably mounted on the rod by nut 60. The compression force of the spring on the rod is used to counterbalance the weight of the cover, depending on the angular position of pin 47 with respect to the center of pin 36. When pin 47 approaches a vertical line drawn through the center of pivot pin 36, the force will be at a minimum and the cover will be closed tightly on the cabinet. It can be seen that when the cover is closed (FIG. 4), the spring will be fully compressed, but the horizontal distance between a vertical line drawn through pivot pin 36 and the center of pin 47 will be at a minimum thereby providing a minimum amount of torque on the Cover. The initial motion required to raise the cover will increase this distance rapidly causing the torque to increase rapidly. If the spring force is properly adjusted, the force of the spring will raise the cover to an intermediate position (FIG. 5) with dimples 62 engaging the side walls of the channel member stopping further upward motion of the cover. Link 50 will pivot on pin 47 until it engages stops 64 bent inward from the inturned portion of the mounting bracket top wall. The counterbalancing force will diminish rapidly after the point of contact of the link with the stops 64 passes a horizontal line drawn through the center of pivot pin 36, due to the expansion of spring 56 and the reduction of the moment arm around the pivot pin. Since the force required to lift the cover diminishes as the cover moves toward a vertical position, the rapid reduction in the counterbalancing force prevents the cover from being raised too quickly.

This arrangement provides a smooth transition from a minimum force when the cover is closed to a maximum force upon opening the cover. The pivotal motion of the link causes the spring rod to move substantially horizontally outward from pin 36 thereby increasing the lifting force to a maximum in a minimum of time.

Although but a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A counterbalancing hinge assembly for pivotally mounting a horizontal cover on a freezer cabinet for movement between an open and a closed position comprising, a mounting bracket affixed to the cover, a channel member alxed to the cabinet, pin means pivotally mounting said mounting bracket on the channel member, spring loaded rod means mounted in the channel member, a link connecting the spring loaded rod means to the mounting bracket, said link being pivotally connected at its lower end to the spring loaded rod means and at its upper end to the mounting bracket, said link pivoting away from said pin means as the cover is moved from a closed to an intermediate position, the pivotal connection between the link and the mounting bracket being located with respect to the pin means so that the spring loaded rod means provides an opposing moment to the weight of the cover, and stop means limiting the pivotal motion of the link with respect to the mounting bracket as the cover is moved from an intermediate position to a fully open position, so that the opposing moment of the spring loaded rod means acts at the pivotal connection between the rod and the link.

2. A hinge assembly according to claim 1 wherein the pivotal connection between the link and the mounting bracket is so located as to increase the opposing moment rapidly upon initial opening of the cover.

3. A counter balancing hinge assembly for pivotally mounting a horizontal cover on a cabinet for movement between an open and a closed positioncomprising, a mounting bracket afiixed to the cover, a channel member atlxed to the cabinet, pin means pivotally mounting said mounting bracket on the channel member, spring means mounted in the channel member, a link connecting the spring means to the mounting bracket, said link being pivotally connected at its lower end to the spring means and at its upper end to the mounting bracket, said link pivoting away from said pin means as the cover is moved from a closed to an intermediate position, the pivotal connection between the link and the mounting bracket being located with respect to the pin means so that the spring means provides an opposing moment to the weight of the cover, and stop means limiting the pivotal motion of the link with respect to the mounting bracket a-s the cover is moved from an intermediate position to a fully open position, so that the opposing moment of the spring means acts at the pivotal connection between the spring means and the link.

4. A counterbalancing hinge assembly for pivotally mounting a horizontal Cover on .a cabinet for movement between an open and a closed position comprising, a mounting bracket aixed to the cover, pin means pivotally Connecting said mounting bracket to the cabinet, spring means connected to the cabinet, a link connecting the spring means to the mounting bracket, said link being pivotally connected at its lower end to the spring means and at its upper end to the mounting bracket, said link pivoting away from Isaid pin means as the cover is moved from a closed to an intermediate position, the pivotal connection between the link and the mounting bracket being located with respect to the pin means so that the spring means provides an opposing moment to the weight of the cover, and stop means limiting the pivotal motion of the link with respect to the mounting bracket as the cover is moved from an intermediate position to a fully open position, so that the opposing moment of the spring means acts at the pivotal connnection between the spring means and the link.

5. A hinge assembly according to cl-aim 4 wherein the pivotal connection between the link and the mounting bracket is so located as to increase the opposing moment rapidly upon initial opening of the cover.

No references cited.

DONLEY J. sroCKING, Primary Examiner. 

4. A COUNTERBALANCING HINGE ASSEMBLY FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING A HORIZONTAL COVER ON A CABINET FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN OPEN AND A CLOSED POSITION COMPRISING, A MOUNTING BRACKET AFFIXED TO THE COVER, PIN MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID MOUNTING BRACKET TO THE CABINET, SPRING MEANS CONNECTED TO THE CABINET, A LINK CONNECTING THE SPRING MEANS TO THE MOUNTING BRACKET, SAID LINK BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ITS LOWER END TO THE SPRING MEANS AND AT ITS UPPER END TO THE MOUNTING BRACKET, SAID LINK PIVOTING AWAY FROM SAID PIN MEANS AS THE COVER IS MOVED FROM A CLOSED TO AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION, THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LINK AND THE MOUNTING BRACKET BEING LOCATED WITH RESPECT TO THE PIN MEANS SO THAT THE SPRING MEANS PROVIDES AN OPPOSING MOMENT TO THE WEIGHT OF THE COVER, AND STOP MEANS LIMITING THE PIVOTAL MOTION OF THE LINK WITH RESPECT TO THE MOUNTING BRACKET AS THE COVER IS MOVED FROM AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION TO A FULLY OPEN POSITION, SO THAT THE OPPOSING MOMENT OF THE SPRING MEAN ACTS AT THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SPRING MEANS AND THE LINK. 